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The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating role of social problem solving skills in explaining the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. Additionally, the moderational role of social problem solving skills was also examined. The criteria proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Holmbeck (1997) were followed to test the mediational and the moderational models. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between early aggression and social problem solving skills, social problem solving skills and later behavior problems, and early aggression and later behavior problems. Results indicated that social problem solving skills do not mediate the relationship between early aggression and later behavior problems. However, social problem solving skills do moderate this relationship. Further, it was the number of categories generated as opposed to the number of solutions that was the better predictor. The clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. / Master of Science

An analogue study examines the acquisition and generalization of problem identification and remedial plan skills following client-centered, school case consultation. Nine trained consultants interacted with 35 undergraduate female consultees in one of three intervention conditions. Conditions involved the consultants either viewing the same problem as consultees, not viewing the problem, or attention control. Consultees viewed ten minute video tapes of a problem student in a classroom, then provided written problem descriptions and remedial plans. They then received twenty minutes of consultation or control, and again wrote descriptions of the problem and remedial plans. The same procedure was repeated two day later. One week later, subjects viewed another video tape of a problem student, provided written problem descriptions and remedial plans, but received no interventions.

This study examined correlations between four dimensions of maternal scaffolding, maternal beliefs and values, children’s temperament, and children’s performance and use of self‑regulation strategies on problem‑solving tasks. There are two foci of this study: examining factors that predict the quality of maternal scaffolding, and assessing the relationship between quality of maternal scaffolding and children’s problem solving. Participants consisted of 10 mother‑child dyads in the experimental group and 10 children in the control group. Using a pre- and post‑test design, children were given near and far transfer independent problem‑solving tasks. The experimental group also worked with their mothers on one task during a scaffolded interaction. Maternal beliefs predicted quality of maternal scaffolding, and quality of maternal scaffolding predicted children’s monitoring during the post‑test. Mothers’ scaffolding techniques appear to be related to their beliefs about parenting and educating children, and children appear to learn certain self‑regulation strategies during optimal scaffolded interactions.

Published Article / A specific financial services organisation in South Africa realised that they had to join the innovation revolution in order to remain commercially competitive due to unexpected competitors entering the traditional financial services domain. The evaluation question asks whether employees in a financial services organisation can develop creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills through an intervention such as a workshop, and can a benefit for the business unit and organisation be identified. This qualitative study employed Utilisation Focused Evaluation (UFE) to address the evaluation question. Questionnaires, pen-and-paper tests and interviews were used to gather data. Descriptive statistics were applied to report the data. The most critical finding confirmed that individuals can acquire creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills. The acquisition of these skills though is not sufficient on its own to establish a culture supportive of creativity and innovation. The study culminated in the creation of The Triple I Creativity and Innovation Model. The Triple I Creativity and Innovation Model illustrates how a workshop with distinctive training design features can impact the individual, the business unit and the organisation in order to initiate, ideaneer and ignite creativity and innovation.

A goal of Natural Sciences education is to ensure that learners become scientifically literate. Scientific literacy refers to learners‟ ability to solve problems that relate to policies and practices that affect the natural world. To achieve this goal, teachers need to ensure that their learners become effective problem solvers. This study explored the nature of teaching and assessment practices for the development of the problem solving skills of Gr 9 Natural Sciences learners and makes recommendations to support teachers in this regard. Quantitative, descriptive, survey research was conducted, by means of a structured questionnaire, with Gr 9 Natural Sciences teachers in the Sedibeng West District (D8) of Gauteng, South Africa. The findings of the study show there is a need for improving teaching and assessment practices for the development of the problem solving skills of Gr 9 Natural Sciences learners. Scientific Inquiry is a process known to develop the problem solving skills of learners. This process requires that learners employ critical and creative thinking as well as Science process skills as they make observations, pose questions, perform research and support the process with experimental evidence obtained from a Scientific Investigation as they search for solutions to problems. Although teachers acknowledge that Scientific Inquiry assists in developing the problem solving skills of learners they appear to have a limited view of the implementation thereof. Instead of using Scientific Inquiry to help learners build scientific theories and models when addressing problems, teachers‟ appear to favour the traditional Scientific Method. This method supports the notion that “doing Science means doing experiments” and problem solving becomes reduced to a sequence of steps performed to reinforce Natural Sciences concept and content objectives. Other problems associated with the implementation of Scientific Inquiry include limited classroom discussions surrounding Scientific Investigations as well as teachers favouring demonstrations instead of learners performing their own Scientific Investigations. Also, resources for Scientific Investigations appear to be in short supply and teachers experience difficulty in managing large class sizes during Scientific Investigations. Gr 9 Natural Sciences teachers invest time and effort in their learners‟ development and show dedication to the task of imparting their Natural Sciences knowledge and skills to their learners. If such teachers were to align their teaching and assessment practices with the process of Scientific Inquiry then a high degree of success would be achieved in developing the problem solving skills of Gr 9 Natural Sciences learners. / MEd (Learning and Teaching), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

M.Comm. / Globalization initiates rapid change and innovation that is: “… no longer an option, but it has become a business imperative” (Grulke, 2002, p. 18). Innovative organizations have developed the ability to satisfy both the shareholders’ demand for wealth (Hamel, 2000) and the customers’ demand for more creative and innovative products that facilitate ease of use (Kelley, 2001) while at the same time ensuring business sustainability (Skarzynski & Gibson, 2008). The development of creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills are crucial for the survival of organisations in the 21st century. Creative problem-solving training was generally found to be the most effective when organizations wanted to equip their employees with creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills. A specific financial services organisation in South Africa realised that they had to join the innovation revolution in order to remain commercially competitive in the twentyfirst century. With retailers and other competitors such as the telecommunication role players entering the traditional financial services domain, the organisation recognised that they required a novel approach to conduct their business. The highly regulated and to some extent conformist environment of the financial services organization constitute the sphere within which the research problem is situated. The organisation commissioned the researcher to design a Creativity and Innovation Workshop with the intent to improve the creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills of their employees. The evaluation question that the study purports to address therefore is whether employees in a corporate context such as a financial services organisation can develop appropriate creative and innovative thinking and problemsolving skills through an intervention such as a workshop and can a benefit for the business unit and organisation be identified. The unit of analysis is a niche business unit in a South African financial services organization. The sample used in this study comprises of managers (employees) and senior or executive management of those employees who attended the Creativity and Innovation Workshop.

Excerpt: Tens of thousands of Americans die from suicide each year, and even more exhibit active suicidal behavior, such as thoughts of suicide or plans for a suicide attempt.

Swedish students' knowledge of both mathematics and reading comprehension has deteriorated in recent years. Scientists are discussing whether there is a connection between these areas and that the pupils deteriorating math skills may have something to do with their increasingly lower results in terms of reading comprehension. To investigate this possible connection, I conducted a survey among students in ninth grade and have come to the conclusion that the scientists are right: this connection absolutely exist. Students who received a high score on tasks designed to test students' mathematical problem-solving skills, also received high results on the reading comprehension test. And students who received a poor performance on the problem-solving tasks, were also low performers in the reading comprehension test. The students who received low scores on the problem-solving tasks, wasn’t automatically scoring low on the mathematics test, as you might think. Therefore, I conclude that there is a greater connection between students' reading comprehension and ability to solve mathematical problem-solving tasks than between their abilities in problem-solving and pure mathematics. From this I conclude that reading has a major impact on students' problem-solving skills, which is why I believe that reading should have a greater role in mathematics education.

A goal of Natural Sciences education is to ensure that learners become scientifically literate. Scientific literacy refers to learners‟ ability to solve problems that relate to policies and practices that affect the natural world. To achieve this goal, teachers need to ensure that their learners become effective problem solvers. This study explored the nature of teaching and assessment practices for the development of the problem solving skills of Gr 9 Natural Sciences learners and makes recommendations to support teachers in this regard. Quantitative, descriptive, survey research was conducted, by means of a structured questionnaire, with Gr 9 Natural Sciences teachers in the Sedibeng West District (D8) of Gauteng, South Africa. The findings of the study show there is a need for improving teaching and assessment practices for the development of the problem solving skills of Gr 9 Natural Sciences learners. Scientific Inquiry is a process known to develop the problem solving skills of learners. This process requires that learners employ critical and creative thinking as well as Science process skills as they make observations, pose questions, perform research and support the process with experimental evidence obtained from a Scientific Investigation as they search for solutions to problems. Although teachers acknowledge that Scientific Inquiry assists in developing the problem solving skills of learners they appear to have a limited view of the implementation thereof. Instead of using Scientific Inquiry to help learners build scientific theories and models when addressing problems, teachers‟ appear to favour the traditional Scientific Method. This method supports the notion that “doing Science means doing experiments” and problem solving becomes reduced to a sequence of steps performed to reinforce Natural Sciences concept and content objectives. Other problems associated with the implementation of Scientific Inquiry include limited classroom discussions surrounding Scientific Investigations as well as teachers favouring demonstrations instead of learners performing their own Scientific Investigations. Also, resources for Scientific Investigations appear to be in short supply and teachers experience difficulty in managing large class sizes during Scientific Investigations. Gr 9 Natural Sciences teachers invest time and effort in their learners‟ development and show dedication to the task of imparting their Natural Sciences knowledge and skills to their learners. If such teachers were to align their teaching and assessment practices with the process of Scientific Inquiry then a high degree of success would be achieved in developing the problem solving skills of Gr 9 Natural Sciences learners. / MEd (Learning and Teaching), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013